Meet the 2020 BuildingEnergy Boston Content Committee

The content of BuildingEnergy Boston is curated by a volunteer committee of NESEA Members, who collectively put in hundreds of hours throughout the year to ensure that sessions are data-driven, diverse and genuinely useful to attendees. To be a part of next year's planning committee, please contact Miriam Aylward.

2020 Conference Co-Chairs

Cammy Peterson is the Director of Clean Energy at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the regional planning agency for Metro Boston. She oversees all of MAPC’s clean energy work, including local climate and energy planning, regional energy procurements, and local and state climate and energy policy. Ms. Peterson further strives to integrate clean energy practices into all aspects of MAPC’s planning work. Under her leadership, the Clean Energy Department launched a new Net Zero Planning initiative and associated series, Zero to 101, Bringing Net Zero to 101 Cities and Towns, in the fall of 2017.

Prior to joining MAPC, Ms. Peterson managed the energy, environmental, and transportation policy and legislative portfolios for New York State Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh. Ms. Peterson is a Board Member of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN). She earned a Masters degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University, where she focused on clean energy and climate policy and planning. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Harvard University.

Sonia Barrantes, P.E. is a former Naval Flight Officer who spent more than a decade flying in carrier-based combat aircraft all over the country and the world. She recently returned home to Maine where she has opened her own mechanical engineering firm, Ripcord Engineering, specializing in high-efficiency integrated design of mechanical and plumbing systems for commercial and multi-family residential buildings. Sonia is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and the University of Maryland College Park with an undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering and a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. Ripcord Engineering is passionate about securing our national fuel supply through design of elegant and efficient buildings.

2020 Conference Vice-Chairs

Stephanie Horowitz is the Managing Director of ZeroEnergy Design, a green architecture firm based in Boston, committed to innovative and ecologically sensible design. The firm practices at the intersection of high design and high performance, enabled by a multidisciplinary team whose expertise spans the fields of architecture, mechanical engineering and finance. Stephanie also serves on the AIA’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) Advisory Group, and is a founding board member of Passive House Massachusetts. She is a Certified Passive House Consultant and a Massachusetts Registered Architect.
Nick Falkoff is principal of Auburndale Builders; a General Contractor focused on building high-performance, net zero and passive homes. He has worked in residential and commercial construction for over 20 years and started Auburndale Builders in 2005. The Auburndale Builders team built the first certified passive house in Wayland and the first PHIUS Source Zero retrofit in Newton which houses the Studio for High-Performance Design and Construction (StudioHPDC). Nick is co-founder of StudioHPDC, a non-profit organization focused on providing education and training resources for the high-performance design and construction industry, including classes, workshops, and reference materials. He is an active member of the NAHB Builder20 Club and the NESEA Building Energy Bottom Lines program. He is a CAPS-Certified Aging in Place Specialist and currently serves on the board of Passive House Massachusetts.

2020 Content Committee

Conference